Week 1 Pre-Training Utah 1/2 IM

March 3, 2008

SWIM - Today, for the first time since November, I went to the pool and swam. I thought about skipping it while I was lying in bed, but I got up and went. I'm so glad that I did. I had forgotten about the calmness of moving through the water. I also was pleasantly surprised to see that I haven't lost all of my ability and I was even able to keep up with the man in the lane next to me. So, here's my workout:

300 yd. warm up
8x25 yd. swim drills
5x100 yd. base intervals
8x25 yd. kicking drills
300 yd. cool down

BIKE - I spent about an hour this evening on the trainer, watching the end of Pride and Prejudice. It was a great workout, and while the intervals were tough, I actually did a couple extras and felt pretty good. I think I was partially motivated because my dad picked up his new road bike yesterday and is very excited to start doing some long rides. I guess he told the guy at the store that he's really looking forward to training with his daughter.

Power intervals. 1 hr. 10 min.
25 min. warm up (HR in 130s)
7x20 sec intervals done in a high gear at speed intensity, with 2 min active recovery. (HR in 160s)
25 min. cool down (HR in 140s)

STRETCH - I completed a 15 min. stretch which felt glorious.

March 4, 2008

STRENGTH - I completed a Firm workout, Hi-Def Sculpt, this morning using 8 lb. dumbells. I will definitely be using the 10lb weights next time.

RUN - I did not get my run in today. I'm really going to have to work on fitting in these workouts.

March 5, 2008

SWIM - 1600 yd.

Warm-up - 300 yd.
Drill set - 8 x 25 yd.
Fartlek intervals - 8 x 100 yd. - 25 easy, 25 hard, 10 s. rest
Cool down - 300 yd.

BIKE - 60 min. steady ride at moderate intensity.

YOGA - On Wednesdays, I get together with some friends and do yoga. This is my good stretching/flexibility/strength workout for the week.

March 6, 2008

SWIM - 1800 yd. Instead of base intervals, I ended up doing a long 1200 yd with no breaks. I am glad that I will not be swimming again until next week, because my upper body is tired. I did watch a dvd last night on swimming techniques (The Science of Triathlon) and tried to incorporate some of the drills/techniques into my swim this morning. I could tell towards the end that my form was starting to suffer, just from fatigue. The swim down felt good and I actually kept up with a younger type man during my workout.

Warm-up - 300 yd.
Base intervals - 1200 yd.
Cool down - 300 yd.

RUN - I really struggled to get this run done yesterday. I'm not sure if it was fatigue or just plain laziness, but I really didn't want to go running after work. In fact, I thought of all sorts of reasons not to go. However, while I was driving home, I reminded myself that I am completing a 1/2 IM in August and I really do want to do well and in order to do well, I need to follow my training plan. So, I got home and procrastinated for about 5-10 min, but did manage to throw on my running clothes, grab my ipod and head out the door. I ended up doing 4.5 miles and got to listen to some great TriTalk podcasts.

Foundation run - 40 m. steady run at moderate aerobic intensity

March 7, 2008

I hopped on the trainer to fit in this ride and I was totally impressed with my ability to sit there for that long. I was watching "The Sound of Music" so that may have played a roll. I kept my HR right around 130, but struggled to get it to go higher, so I think that's something I'll need to work on. I did manage to burn 1232 calories, so I'll take it.

BIKE - Foundation Ride - 1 hr. 45 m. steady ride at moderate aerobic intensity

March 8, 2008

I had big ambitions to get a 55 min. foundation run in today, but after my traveling I was totally wiped out. I went to sleep at 12am on Friday night and was up at 3:30am to head to the airport. Needless to say I was tired, so no run for me on Saturday.